


carry me home

by Yellow



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: M/M, mentions of how fucked up the ship engine is, sharing a bed (with your bro), you gotta hold hands after [looks at the events of the movie]
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-30
Updated: 2019-09-30
Packaged: 2020-11-16 13:35:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20827076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yellow/pseuds/Yellow
Summary: the immediate aftermath."'Where are you taking me?''My place,' Galo says, easy. “I told Aina and the chief you were planning to stay in the ship but then they told me you almost died, and that’s true, and then your friends told me to make sure you got some actual sleep, so. You get my bed.'"





	carry me home

**Author's Note:**

> i know everyone is using inferno lyrics as titles, sue me  
this movie has my brain in a vice grip

Aina asks them if they’re really okay, pressing them to take a break or at least eat something.

Galo looks down at Lio with open concern on his face, as if he’s just remembered Lio had almost died just a few hours ago.

Lio waves her off. 

“I’m fine.”

Galo beams and slaps him on the shoulder. Lio has to brace himself not to stumble forward. Aina throws him another worried glance, but sighs and grins. 

“Fine, but there are plenty of us. Tap out if you need-”

“I’m not leaving until every Burnish is safe.”

She nods, then slips out of her pink jacket.

“I know it’s silly, but it’s something.”

Lio still doesn't have a shirt. He takes the jacket and puts it on, fighting the urge to pull on the bottom to cover his stomach. Galo grins wider.

“Don’t say anything,” he growls, and Galo’s smile softens. 

“It’s pretty cute,” he says, and before Lio can get offended he runs a few steps ahead of him, back towards the engine. “Are you coming?”

Lio nods and runs after.

It’s brutal work. The pods are all reachable by giant walkways-the Burnish had to be fed. It makes Lio sick, thinking about the large scale planning at work. How many people had to know what was happening. 

Even with the walkways, Aina is making things much faster, flying around and freeing people from the top levels. But the real work is emotional-children and adults crying, especially when they see Lio. Kids separated from their parents. 

But despite everything, they were lucky- very lucky. Only a few people died in the engine combustion. When Lio reaches the one pile of ash he sees personally, he says a prayer and tries not to break down and finally, finally cry. Not enough time.

Most of the survivors are fine, or going to be. Lio wishes the promare had stayed long enough that he could have breathed life back into the sickest people, but Galo is as good as he’d claimed. His steady hands help dozens of people, and Lio feels warm when he spares a second to look down at him on the engine’s floor. 

Around noon, Aina flies past him and throws him a sandwich.

“You’re swaying on your feet!” she yells, and zooms by, her sister leaning out of the back.

Lio glares at Heris as the craft flies by. He’s not interested in food, but he forces himself to eat the sandwich and keeps going. 

By his estimate, there are two or three thousand Burnish captured here. Freeing them takes all day, and when he’s completed his levels, he leans over the handrails and waves at Aina.

“Done?” she calls, swooping up.

“Yes,” he shouts, and she lowers, hovering for him to climb onboard. He gets in, not making eye contact with Heris.

“I’m sorry,” she says, quietly, and Lio just stares at the floor, breathing slowly to try to stay calm.

“What are we going to do with the Burnish?” he asks Aina.

“The ten thousand people supposed to make the jump were cleared out and told to go home.” He can hear her grimace. “I know it’s not ideal, but we’re housing the Burnish here until we can get something figured out.”

Lio nods, exhausted. It’s traumatic, but they’re safe now. And he’d work until the Burnish-not Burnish anymore, he supposes-had a safe, stable home. He is used to temporary compromises. He hopes he will not have to be for much longer.

“Where’s Galo?” 

“Finishing up too. It took awhile for him to find some of the kids’ parents.”

Lio nods again. The craft touches down gently, and he lurches out, suddenly almost unable to stand now that the immediate crisis is over. Galo appears at his elbow and steadies him.

“Where are you staying?” 

“I suppose here,” Lio says. “Wherever there’s room.”

“Don’t you have a house?” Galo asks, like Lio’s not a wanted terrorist.

“Not one I could go back to now without causing trouble for the neighbors.” He sighs. Metis and Gueira were infamous enough now to have the same problem. Lio jolts upright.

“Metis and Gueira-did you see Metis and Gueira-”

“Oh, yeah, the guys asking for you? I didn’t want to interupt you-I knew you wouldn’t stop until everyone was safe, but they’re hanging around.” Galo turns in a circle and points towards them, just across the engine room.

“There-”

Lio is already running, and Metis turns just as Lio crashes into him in a hug.

“Boss,” he says, and it takes all Lio has not to sob. Gueria throws his arms around them as well, and they stand there until Lio regains his composure. He takes a deep breath and steps back.

“You absolute idiots,” he says, and it’s not as angry as it should be. “I hope we’ll never be in a situation like that again, but even so-it is _ unacceptable _ to risk your safety for mine.”

They both smile at him in a way that means they absolutely would do it again. He’s too tired to fight them, but he does take a step forward and grab their sleeves.

“You’re both alright?”

“Yeah, boss,” Gueira says.

“Good,” Lio says, and passes out.

He comes to in Galo’s arms. Galo is babbling about the neighborhood, and the chief, and all his friends on the squad. Lio hits him in the chest with his fist. It’s weaker than he planned, but his limbs aren’t quite cooperating.

“Where are you taking me?”

“My place,” Galo says, easy. “I told Aina and the chief you were planning to stay in the ship but then  _ they _ told me you almost died, and that’s true, and then your friends told me to make sure you got some actual sleep, so. You get my bed.”

Galo is warm, and at the mention of beds Lio wants to fall asleep again. And they’re already getting far from the ship. 

“Fine,” he huffs, and crosses his arms awkwardly. 

Galo starts chattering again and Lio dozes for the next few minutes of the walk.

“So see, it’s close to the station, and-” he puts Lio down, keeping an arm around him, and fumbles in his pocket for his keys. Lio makes a vague noise of protest at the manhandling and sways into Galo.

“I made it to the station in two minutes and 35 seconds once,” he crows.

“You timed it?”

“Of course!” 

Lio rolls his eyes. Galo flips the lights on. The apartment is small and sparse, with a couch and not much else in the main room. 

“The bed is in here-”

“The couch will do just fine,” Lio says, and lies down. He vaguely registers Galo putting a pillow behind his head and tucking a blanket around him. He squirms in protest.

“Wake me up when you get up tomorrow. We have to make sure housing starts getting built.”

“Of course.” Galo sounds a little offended, like Lio should have known he wouldn’t leave him behind. And after today, Lio thinks, drifting off, he supposes he should have.

He wakes with a jolt. He has his hand out, ready to throw flame in Galo’s face before he remembers who Galo is or that he doesn’t have the promare anymore. He withdraws his hand awkwardly and tries to breathe deep. Galo is staring at him. Up close his eyes are a kaleidoscope of colors and that’s what Lio focuses on as he tries to slow his heart rate.

“You were screaming,” Galo says, and stares more.

Lio looks up to the ceiling. If he closes his eyes he can see the Burnish in the pods, he can feel himself in the core, burning up from the inside out-

“Lio.”

He looks back at Galo, trying for disaffected. Galo touches his cheek.

“You’re crying again.”

“Again?” Lio says, and wipes at his eyes.

“The dragon.” 

Lio can barely remember that, now-it feels so long ago already, and he was so angry he could barely think over the roar of the promare telling him to burn, burn. But he shrugs.

Galo squints at him, hand on his chin. 

“You need a bed.”

“No, I don’t. I’m fine here, thank-”

“You died! And then you worked for ten hours!” He sounds like he’s repeating something Aina told him verbatim. 

Lio sighs. 

“You’re not going to let me get to sleep if I stay here, are you.”

“Nope!” Galo says, grinning.

“Fine,” Lio huffs, and tries valiantly to stand. 

Galo watches him for a moment, practically vibrating with the effort of keeping still.

Lio exhales. 

“Would you,” he grinds out, “carry me.”

Galo beams and scoops him up, then deposits him in a double bed in the next room. There are some posters on the wall, but he sees a few crumpled up on the floor. One is intact enough that he can make out the name “Kray” before he turns his head. Galo notices him looking and kicks at it.

“Sorry,” he mutters.

“It’s okay,” Lio says. The comforter has tiny cartoon fire trucks on it. The corner of Lio’s mouth quirks.

“This is a big bed,” he says, and Galo looks up from the poster.

“Yeah?”

Lio turns to face the wall. 

“You can sleep here too, if you wish.”

Lio can hear Galo shift for a moment, and he holds his breath. The nice thing about Galo is he says everything he’s thinking out loud. And when he hesitates, that’s when you know it’s important. 

He feels Galo slide into bed next to him.

“Lio,” Galo whispers. 

“Yes?”

“Thank you. For saving me.”

Lio’s heart clenches. He rolls over to face Galo.

“Why wouldn’t I have?”

Galo shrugs one shoulder and grins at him, sleepy. “I don’t know. But you did. So thanks.”

Lio is already falling back to sleep, lulled by how warm Galo is.

“Most people wouldn’t have helped me, let alone saved me,” Lio says, and grabs Galo’s hand in two of his. Galo’s eyes get wide. “Thank you.”

It is nice to hold hands with someone. Lio has barely been touched for years. Lio closes his eyes, and as he does, Galo pulls the covers up over them both. 

“Goodnight, Lio,” he says, and Lio mumbles a response.

Galo is warm and he makes Lio feel safe. It is easy, with Galo’s hand in his, to think of happier things, like the future that stretches long before them, and before Lio even notices, he is asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> find me @capricioustube


End file.
